Green World Views

For an island nation famous for grey skies and drizzle, the concept of a water shortage feels counterintuitive. Yet, as consecutive heatwaves and prolonged dry spells push reservoir levels down and trigger hosepipe bans and abstraction restrictions across multiple regions, water security has moved firmly to the top of the national agenda. With chalk streams under pressure and river levels dropping, the question inevitably resurfaces: why aren't we turning the sea around us into drinking water? Can we use water from the sea to avoid drought restrictions in the UK? The UK’s Desalination Landscape Desalination remains remarkably rare in the UK. The country’s sole large-scale mainland plant is the Thames Gateway Water Treatment Works in Beckton, East London. Commissioned in 2010 to provide up to 150 million litres of water a day during extreme dry periods, the plant treats brackish water from the tidal Thames using reverse osmosis. Beyond Beckton, desalination is limited to nich...

As meteorological summer officially begins, the UK finds itself in the grip of drought conditions, following a spring that has shattered records for dryness and sunshine. From parched fields to dwindling reservoir levels, the impact is being felt across the country, prompting urgent action from water companies and a plea for public cooperation. A Spring Like No Other: Record Dryness and Unprecedented Sunshine This spring has been nothing short of exceptional, but not in a way that brings comfort. The Met Office has confirmed that Spring 2025 is officially the UK's sunniest on record, surpassing the previous record set during the 2020 lockdown. While delightful for those seeking sunshine, this relentless brightness has been coupled with alarmingly low rainfall. Many regions have experienced significantly below-average rainfall, with March being the driest across England since 1961, and April receiving just half its typical total. The North West of England, in particular,...

Photo by Igor Passchier: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-desert-landscape-with-mountains-in-the-background-27523311/ Author Name: Grist "This story was originally published by Grist . Sign up for Grist's weekly newsletter here ." In parts of California’s Central Valley, so much groundwater has been pumped out of the ground to deal with the region’s persistent drought that the land is starting to sink in . Underground aquifers — layers of sand, gravel, clay, and water — are vital resources that communities can turn to when surface water is scarce. But when more water is pumped out of aquifers than is put back in —  as is happening in the southern part of the valley — it can cause the ground to slowly contract, like a drying sponge. After studying this phenomenon , Rosemary Knight, a professor of geophysics at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, became interested in identifying the fastest ways to reple...